Introduction

This resource is a work in progress and relies on community input and knowledge. It will continue to be updated and we are grateful for feedback and/or suggestions for pages that enrich this resource.

It was previously called Addressing Oppressions through Drama and Dance and has been renamed to shift focus from the oppressive systems creating the cultural context to the artists with the agency to disrupt those systems through their creative practices.

Artists as Disruptors - Learning Hub cover image

This resource was created as an invitation to engage deeply in thinking about the systems that affect our students and our responsibility as educators to develop safe, liberating, equitable learning environments for drama and dance. Considering the following statement:

“You do not have to be disabled to experience ableism." - Talia A. Lewis

For other systems of oppression, might it also be true that experience of an oppressive system is not contingent on an identity that is valued least in the hierarchy created by that system? What might this mean for our teaching practices as drama and dance educators?

As arts educators, it is essential to understand that art is not created in a vacuum. The systems of oppression that artists resist and refuse are often the cultural context that students need to explore and understand in order to make sense of art and performance. Deep engagements with identity and intersections are the basis for art throughout history. Students need to be given opportunities to engage with their own experiences of identity and of systems of oppression in order to engage with refusal and self-assertion through their own art-making.

This resource is meant to be a hub that you can use as a scaffold to engage with background knowledge in relation to specific CODE resources. Our hope is that teachers that use CODE resources will do so in anti-oppressive, emancipatory ways, and so this resource is an invitation to deepen your knowledge. Specific resources will invite you to revisit this resource before teaching, and each section of this resource will make recommendations of connected unit or lesson plans.

Engaging with the Resources

Before beginning work with students, educators need to create safety. Consider some of the recommendations here: Creating Safety for Students.

General Social Justice Resources

Arts for Social Justice at Claude Watson

Social Justice and Drama Education

CODE Resources

Each section of this resource includes:

  • definitions related to the listed systems of oppression
  • links/scholarly articles that connect drama and/or dance to the arts
  • links to CODE resources that connect to these topics
  • suggested artists or troupes in Ontario who engage in resistance to these oppressions
  • picture books as entry points
  • plays and other sources as entry points

In the Appendices, there are resources about digital and media literacy, suggestions for selecting appropriate entry points for students, and an exploration of how power is expressed.

Intersectionality

While each of the oppressive systems listed here are treated as branches affecting social positions in isolation, an individual's experience of oppressive systems is based on the intersection of multiple social positions. 

"Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how individuals' various social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of advantage and disadvantage." (Wikipedia)

The links included within the sections of this resource may appear in multiple sections because of these overlaps. Educators should take care to consider the overlapping identities of students while learning more about these oppressions and when considering how to approach them in their classrooms.

Learn more about Intersectionality.

This resource was originally compiled by Tessa Lofthouse, October 2023. It is slowly being updated through consultation with community members, led by Jose Miguel 'Miggy' Esteban, CODE's Equity Chair.

Last updated July 28, 2026.